Bolsheviks and the Bottle: Drink and Worker Culture in St. Petersburg, 1900-1929

Laura L. Phillips. Bolsheviks and the Bottle: Drink and Worker Culture in St. Petersburg, 1900-1929. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 2000. viii, 212 pp. Chronology. Notes. Sources Cited. Index. $38.00, cloth. This is one of a growing number of more specialized studies assessing the impact of the 1917 revolutions on the everyday life of the Russian masses. The focus of this book is on both the way in which alcohol was consumed in Russia between 1900 and 1929 as well as Tsarist and Soviet government policies towards it. Laura Phillips relies wherever possible on accounts left by workers themselves and the literature produced in various anti-alcohol campaigns. Throughout the book her concentration remains solidly on the workers of St. Petersburg, so while her conclusions are interesting, it will take further studies of this nature before it can be said that they are applicable to other parts of Russia during the same period of time. The book begins with an excellent survey of state policy concerning alcohol. In both the Tsarist and Soviet eras, alcohol was of great importance due to the revenue its sales generated for the state. But alcohol was seen as a double-edged sword since its consumption also affected worker productivity and the economic well-being of working class families. The second chapter offers an in-depth linguistic analysis of the meanings of drink to Russian workers as well as an examination of the rites associated with drinking. The language workers used indicates that men who did not drink would have had their masculinity challenged by their co-workers and would not have been seen as trustworthy comrades. Drinking together was a sign of respect to workers and affirmed an individual's bond with the collective. Workers also used drinking as a type of calendar since the consumption of alcohol would peak after the week's labour had finished and on holidays. The importance of alcohol to relations on the shop floor is the subject of Phillips' third chapter. In it, she argues that prior to the 1920s drink was used by workers to solidify their position at work and in the larger worker community. Consuming alcohol together was a sign of a reciprocal relationship and ensured that workers would share their knowledge and skills with one another. Drink was also used to symbolize cordial relations between foremen and workers: occasionally treating their workers to alcohol meant that the foremen could expect a greater degree of cooperation from them. In the 1920s these relationships based on drink decreased in importance as workers no longer had to rely on experienced comrades to help them learn and move up the ranks and as the power hierarchies on the shop floor were altered. …